You and I
by Kiki-Jo
Summary: Nick loves his best friend and roommate, Jeff. That should be the recipe for a perfect fairytale. But first, they really ought to tell each other... Rated T for mild sexual references. And I mean very mild.


**You and I – a Niff fic.**

I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing again, and beat this writer's block which has been stopping me from writing for over a year. So, I'm going to write some Niff. This will only be a short drabble, unless I get more ideas for it or people like it and want more. M'kay, so, on with the story!

**Nick.**

"_Soon!_" Nick had read the text from his best friend so many times – at least fifty times in the past ten minutes. He just couldn't stop reading it, no matter how many times he tried to distract himself.

Three weeks, four days, one hour and around forty-five minutes had passed since he had last seen his best friend, and time had moved so slowly it had felt more like three _years_ than weeks.

As much as he missed Jeff, Nick was nervous about seeing him again… the past three weeks had seemed so easy for him. He didn't have to try and talk about girls, or sneak off into the shower in the middle of the night, forcing himself to turn the water cold because he knew he would be mortified if Jeff ever caught him doing… _that_. He felt so free here, in the middle of nowhere, A.K.A his aunt's house in Tennessee, almost 400 miles away from his school, and more importantly, his best friend.  
>His aunt knew how Nick loved Jeff, and she also understood why the blonde hadn't been invited along on the trip this year, like he had every other year. Nick knew that had confused Jeff, but there was nothing he could do about it. It had been over the past year that his feelings for Jeff had grown, and he knew he needed this time away, to fully understand how he felt before he risked saying anything to Jeff and ruining their friendship. If he was being honest, he also kind of hoped the feelings would go away while he was away from Jeff, so they could go back to normal, but if anything they had intensified. He still had a few days left of his vacation, and he planned on making the most of it, before he had to go back to Dalton, and back into the closet he loathed.<p>

"_Trent! My most favourite, sassy Warbler, I need your help! Nick comes back in a few days, and I really want to tell him… how should I do it? What if he runs away? Oh, but, what if he likes me too… Trent you can't let me think like this! HELP! I will buy you coffee if you help me!"_

Nick's eyes widened as he read Jeff's text for the third time. _Surely he didn't mean…_ _he can't be serious… _Nick was internally panicking, sat on the edge of his bed shaking with nerves and a weird rush of excitement. It took him forever to finally get his brain working again, and the first thing he did was run to his aunt and thrust the phone in front of her face so she could read the text.  
>"What does it mean? What is he <em>saying<em>?" He exclaimed, still shaking a little, bouncing on his feet as he waited impatiently for his aunt to finish reading the message, desperate to know what she thought.  
>"You should probably try calling him, Nicky." She advised him, a small smile on her lips as she hoped her nephew would finally be able to calm down and come to terms with how he felt.<br>Nick nodded and rushed back up to his room, pushing the 'call' button as soon as his door had slammed closed. He squeaked a little when he heard the ringing tone, his nerves suddenly attacking him. His face fell when his call was rejected, and he looked down at his phone, which now showed his wallpaper. The picture seemed to almost taunt him, showing him a time when the two were just friends, and nothing was complicated. _Stupid, happy, beautiful, blonde jerk… _ Nick thought, throwing his phone on the bed. But it didn't stay there for long.

He must have tried calling ten times that night, and he sent a dozen texts all saying the same thing "_CALL ME!"_

Three days later, he still hadn't heard anything. He had _tried_. He had called Jeff so many times his aunt had tried to take his phone off of him, but it was useless. Nick still called, and Jeff still rejected his calls.

**Jeff.**

Uh-oh. Oh, no… oh _no_, this wasn't supposed to happen. He knew he should have listened when he had been told to check who he was sending messages to, after the fiasco of sending his mom texts meant for Trent about how many cold showers he had been having recently, because of Nick. But he didn't listen, and now he had sent _that_ to Nick, and there was no way he could even pretend it was something else.

He was staring at his phone in shock when it started vibrating in his hand, and he swore he almost had a heart attack. Nick's name flashed across the screen, and when he finally recovered from the shock, he clicked the reject button automatically. He had never rejected Nick before, never ignored a text from him, but now he couldn't bring himself to respond. He was terrified that he would either hear Nick's voice and freak out, or Nick would be telling him that he never wanted to speak to him again, and had already been in contact with the school to be placed in a different dorm room. He knew it was probably irrational, being so afraid – Nick was his best friend, after all – but he couldn't help it, he didn't want to lose him.

He spent the next few days texting back and forth with Trent, and he even called him at two in the morning just to panic some more.  
>"Jeff, just <em>calm down<em>. This is Nick we're talking about. Even if he doesn't _love_ you, he still loves you!" Trent attempted to reassure him during their fifth phone call that day. It was Nick's final day of vacation, and he was being persistent, having sent ten text messages already, and it was only midday.

"_Call me._"  
>"<em>Please, Jeff. Call.<em>"  
>"<em>Why won't you answer my calls? Are you mad at me? :(<em>"  
>"<em>If you reply, I promise I'll bake you cookies.<em>"  
>"<em>Jeff, this isn't funny anymore. Where are you? Are you safe? Please tell me you're safe…<em>"

Jeff read the latest message and his brow furrowed. _Why on earth would I not be safe?_ He repeated those words to Trent, who made a noise that sounded kind of like "I don't know" without any words, before letting out an odd laughing noise. "Nick just text me. Asking where you were and if I know why you're ignoring him. I should really tell him the truth…" He said in an almost teasing tone. "But I'll let you do that." Trent promised, smiling to himself as he replied to Nick, simply telling him that Jeff was fine.

**Nick.**

"Fine? He's _fine_?" Nick ranted to his aunt in the car on the way to the airport, reading the text from Trent three times to see if there was _any_ other way it could be interpreted. Nothing. He checked the text again.

"_He's fine. See you soon! Xo_"

"Nicky, calm down, you'll see him soon, and then you can make sure he's alright, and find out why he hasn't been responding to you." His aunt smiled, turning onto the road leading up to the airport.

Ten hours and one long plane journey later, Nick dragged himself into his dorm room. He had planned on talking to Jeff immediately, but he found his roommate sleeping in his bed, and if he was being honest, that's all Nick wanted to do, too. He promptly passed out, and didn't resurface until early the next morning.

When he finally awoke, it took Nick a moment to realise where he was, and his eyes immediately snapped to the bed opposite his own. Empty. "No, no, please no…" Nick muttered to himself, sitting up in bed quickly, looking around as though Jeff would suddenly appear. No such luck. The room was still empty, besides Nick, and he feared he had simply imagined the blonde sleeping peacefully in his bed late the night before. Before he could panic further, he heard angry whispering from the bathroom.  
>"<em>But he's here! What am I supposed to do, Trent? I can't just walk in there and pretend it never happened, he's gonna be asking questions… don't act like he won't, I haven't spoken to him in days… you know that if we don't talk for even a few hours one of us will get cranky. I know… fine. Fine! I'm going in there… I doubt he's awake yet, but I'll go back… Yeah, I'll text you…"<br>_Nick had heard most of the conversation, because Jeff didn't really know how to whisper, he always managed to make it louder than it should be. A few long minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Jeff appeared in just his sweatpants, his phone clutched in his hand. When he saw Nick awake in his bed, Jeff froze, staring at Nick.  
>"U-uh, hi…" He mumbled, looking down at the floor and heading back to his bed, hoping Nick would have forgotten about the message, and the past few days.<br>"Hey." Nick said nervously, biting his lip as he thought about what he should say – an action Jeff noticed quickly and had to try and ignore. "Um, why haven't you been answering my calls…?" He asked, hoping that being blunt would be the best way to get an answer from Jeff. Jeff didn't know how to respond though, and Nick watched curiously as the other boy fumbled with his phone.  
>"Is it about the text? I mean… d-did you mean it?" Nick stuttered slightly, his voice becoming quieter as he asked, scared of what Jeff would say, and scared that Jeff wouldn't respond at all.<br>"Yes." Jeff whispered after a few minutes, a few long, painful, nerve-wracking minutes. Nick went into a state of shock when Jeff replied, because it was like all of his dreams coming true, he just didn't know what to _do_; Jeff always seemed to wake him up for class before dream-Nick had a chance to reply to dream-Jeff.  
>"Y-you do?" Was all Nick managed to say, his cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. "Do you really mean it? Do you… do you like me?" He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. He had spent the last of his vacation panicking, and now it seemed like he had panicked for nothing, because Jeff was <em>serious<em>. Jeff nodded, but before he had the chance to verbally respond to Nick, the brunette was diving onto his bed, his arms wrapped around him tightly. Nick's grin was almost painful, but he didn't care, because Jeff liked him, and he could finally hold him how he had always wanted.  
>"I like you, too…" Nick whispered, not trusting his voice to speak at a normal level, afraid it would crack from the sheer intensity of emotions rushing through him.<p>

Both boys silently looked at each other when Nick pulled back a little, each trying to figure out what they should say or do, before Nick took initiative and leaned forward to press his lips against Jeff's, smiling into the kiss as he felt his best friend responding quickly, arms wrapping around Nick's waist.

"Come on, Nick, I need coffee!" Jeff pouted at Nick, looking utterly adorable as he waited impatiently for his morning coffee fix.  
>"Alright, hang on a sec." Nick grinned, letting go of Jeff's hand which was trying to tug him out of their dorm, so he could send a text before taking hold of his best friend – no, his <em>boyfriend<em>'s hand, and heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

**To: Aunt Jane  
>From: Nick<br>**_He likes me! :D_


End file.
